Calvin Cargo Pants by Momma Quail Patterns

September 11, 2015

You guys. I made another pair of pants for Louis and I luuuuurve them. I’ll tell you why. But first, a picture of that handsome model of mine. Be still my Momma heart.

Momma Quail Patterns just released a brand new pattern, called the Calvin Cargos and they are boss. Cargos? Where is the pocket? Well….a certain tester dropped the ball ::coughmecough:: and ran out of time and she didn’t put the best part of the pattern onto the pants. Major fail on my part…whomp whomp. BUT, they’re even awesome without that detail. Let me tell you why.

These pants come in so many variations. You can include the details you want and leave out the ones you don’t. But you’ll want to add them all. The first time I came across Momma Quail was when I made the Timmy Top and I fell in love with the detail she puts into her designs. So often, boys patterns are so “here it is” and boring. And I understand why people choose to sew dresses and frilly stuff for girls. But Amy at MQ is allllll about the details and making sure that these patterns are super awesome for the little men in your life.

The Calvin Cargos offer:

pants / above knee shorts / below knee shorts

pieced legs

knee pleats

working or faux fly

hemmed or cuffed pants

cargo pocket with zipper detail

back pockets with flaps

I took it easy and used a pretty basic khaki fabric. And i love them. The details show but they’re not over the top. Louis even was okay and not completely fighting me over having him put these on. I mean, it’s summer and he wants to wear shorts. I get it. But pictures!

I opted not to hem the pants to his actual length…but to keep them pretty long instead. Louis is shorter in the leg than he is in the torso. And it seems that he keeps growing taller, but not wider. So I thought keeping the length on these would allow for him to grow with them and use them longer.

Side note :: WHY DO KIDS GROW SO FAST?!? AH!

I’m not going to lie to you guys. This pattern is not for the faint of heart. The details that go into this means that you have a TON of pieces to cut out in the beginning. It can be super intimidating. Like, SUPER intimidating. But hear me out: Push through it. Do it. Don’t let it freak you out. The directions will help you all the way, you just have to read them in their entirety. And you will make a badass pair of pants.

I’m also not going to pretend that these are perfect. Not my version, anyway. I have never sewn a zipper into anything besides a purse. I seriously manage to avoid every single pattern that involves a zipper. But I thought that I would give it a go and try out the zip fly version for Amy. I did it. Super sloppily. But now that i’ve done it, I’ve learned from my mistakes and will make the next version even better.

Because that’s what sewing and making is all about, right? Learning. Challenging yourself. Trying new things. And being proud of your accomplishments.

And it’s safe to say that Lou is proud of my accomplishments as well. Kiddo loves getting new clothes that are Momma made. I hope to god that never changes.

Also. For people who wonder how I get Louis to cooperate for photos….here is an example of 75% of the photos I take of him. Ha. Oh Lou.

Momma Quail has graciously offered this pattern with a 20% discount (no code needed!) until September 16. So get your butt to her shop and get it for yourself!